1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a security detection system for a personal video recorder (PVR) with a hard disk drive (HDD), or other kind of digital multimedia device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tamper resistant detection system that is included with the PVR and the HDD that uses code detection algorithms for verifying a special code is associated with a particular HDD and PVR.
2. Description of the Related Art
HDDs have been used in a multitude of ways and are mounted in PVRs, personal computers and other devices to store picture data and the like. Moreover, there has been a recent rise in the recording capability of such HDDs enabling greater amounts of picture data to be stored. Further, increasingly more valuable picture data of a predetermined format relating to standard definition compressed content can now be stored. Also, in the future, picture data of a predetermined format relating to high definition compressed content will be able to be stored on HDDs.
Copyright laws govern the distribution of picture data and the like.
Consequently, the stored picture data can be subject to theft by the simple removal of the HDD from the PVR and swapping the HDD with other devices for copying, downloading or distributing in other ways the picture data contained therein. Such unauthorized distribution would violate copyright laws, and therefore must be prevented.
Also, the manufacturing costs of a PVR are high because the largest capacity, most expensive HDD is always desired. In some instances, it has become necessary to subsidize the manufactured PVR to stimulate consumer consumption such that the cost of purchasing the PVR can sometimes be less than the cost of an individual HDD purchased separately.
Consequently, a consumer might be inclined to save costs by instead of purchasing a HDD, by purchasing a PVR and removing the HDD for use with other devices. As a result, such actions could prove to be costly to the manufacturer and eventually lead to the removal of the subsidization of this kind of device. With the removal of subsidies, there would eventually be an increase in costs to the consumer and perhaps even diminished demand for PVRs by the consumer.